Pruning Fruit Trees – Simcoe County Master Gardener

By Marianne Lepa, Master Gardener In Training, SCMG

Those of us lucky enough to have room for fruit trees in our gardens know the delights of enjoying homegrown fruits right from the tree. From the sweet scent of fruit blossoms in spring through to harvesting the last of the apples before winter closes in, fruit trees are a masterclass for gardeners who want to move beyond berries and vine fruits. A home orchard, whether two trees or a dozen, requires a different care schedule than the vegetable garden. Pruning is vital to the health and vigour of your orchard. It’s a skill that requires a good eye and a brave spirit. It may be terrifying to cut away a large portion of your trees every year, but proper pruning will reap the benefit of years and years of large flavourful fruits.

Improving fruit production is just one reason to develop your pruning skills. Pruning also helps to:

manage the size and shape of your trees
remove unproductive branches
increase light and air circulation to resist fungal diseases and provide overall resistance to pests

Pruning is also used to develop the mature shape of young trees or to restore old and neglected trees.

Tools for Pruning

The three tools listed here are used for different sized branches. All tools need to be kept clean and sharp. When pruning away diseased branches be sure to sterilize your cutting tool after each cut by wiping or dipping it in a bleach and water solution.

Secateurs: these are used for small branches and will be the only tool you need for very young trees. Secateurs need to be sharp for a clean cut.

Loppers: Loppers are used to cut branches that are up to 7cm thick. They are similar to secateurs but the blades are thicker and the handle is longer for more power.

Pruning saw: A pruning saw is a curved toothed blade that will cut branches that are 5cm or thicker.

Timing

The best time to prune fruit trees is when they are dormant. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture recommends that fruit trees should be pruned just before buds begin swelling in early spring. Fall pruning, after the leaves have fallen, is not recommended because cuts may not heal before temperatures drop and that increases the risk of winter injury. Pruning too late, after the leaves have appeared, will slow tree growth. This might be desired if you are trying to reduce the overall size of a tree.

Peaches and nectarines are especially susceptible to winter damage and are usually pruned later than other fruit trees, as the flower buds appear. This gives you a chance to assess the flower survival and protect the trees from late cold snaps.

Cherry trees are another exception to the winter pruning rule. Sweet cherries need to be pruned in late summer after the fruits have been harvested. This gives the trees a chance to heal and recover before cold weather. But because summer pruning will stunt the growth of your tree, keep pruning to a minimum and cut away only small terminal branches where they attach to a main horizontal branch.

Things to Keep in Mind

When you cut, make flush, clean cuts to within 1/4 inch of an outward pointing bud. Stubs are prone to decay and invite disease. The exception is with peach trees. Peach branches should be pruned with “collar cuts”, a method that leaves a collar of tissue. For peach trees, this promotes rapid healing and reduces dieback.

Where you cut is where new growth will occur, within 1-8 inches of the cut. The more buds you cut off, the more vigorous new growth will be.

Keep in mind that peaches and nectarines grow rapidly and can stand to lose about 50% of last year’s growth. Other fruit and nut trees (not including citrus) are slower growing, so plan to remove no more than 20% of last year’s growth.

How to Prune a New Fruit Tree

A newly planted fruit tree will have left a portion of its roots behind when it was dug from its nursery bed. For that reason a new tree needs to be heavily pruned at planting time to balance the top growth.

You will want to establish scaffold branches that will grow horizontally from the trunk to support fruiting branches later on. Cut away any branches below 60cm. This prevents fruiting branches touching the ground and gives the gardener room to cultivate beneath the tree. If the tree is tall, cut the leader to about 80 or 90 cm and remove all shoots.

Remove any branches that are at 35 degrees from the main trunk or less. The tight crotch angle will be prone to disease and cracking. Also remove any branches that are about the same diameter as the main trunk.

Expect to take 2-3 years to establish the framework for your new tree.

How to Prune a Mature Fruit Tree

Before you cut, stand back and assess your tree. Look at its shape and size. Is it symmetrical? Are the main branches pointing horizontally away from the trunk? Is the overall shape open and airy? These are the goals you want to achieve with your pruning. It may take a few years to get a young tree to the size you want and if you are rejuvenating a badly neglected tree, it can take 3-8 years to get the tree into full vigour.

Begin with the 3Ds of pruning: Your first cuts should be to remove dead, diseased and damaged branches. This can be done at any time of year, but should always be the first step when pruning fruit trees or any plant. Remember when cutting away diseased branches to sterilize your tool after every cut.

Next, look for branches that cross each other or are growing closely parallel. Remove the weakest of the two while considering the spacing of other branches around them. Branches growing upright next to the trunk will be weak and prone to disease. Any branch growing less than 35 degrees from the trunk should be removed.

With fruit trees, you want to encourage growth outward, rather than vertical, so on your next pass, leave branches growing horizontally or nearly horizontally and remove ones growing up or down.

At this point you have removed all the branches that could interfere with the tree’s vigour and health. Now look for branches that block light and air reaching the centre of the tree and remove them. Sunlight encourages better fruit production and air helps to prevent disease.

Remember that you can prune 50% of last year’s growth from peaches and nectarines and 20% from other fruit and nut trees. It may seem like a lot of branches, but it will pay off in better fruit production.

That pile of branches is are now at your feet can be used to clone new trees by grafting to rootstock or forced indoors for a bloom of sweet smelling flowers at winter’s end. Any branches left over can be bundled and left in an out of the way spot to create habitat for native bees and other insects.